lynahon



LYNAHO'N & WING.

Car Coupling; No; 15,997. Patented Oct. 28, I856.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

D. LYNAHON AND G. J. WING, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO D.LYNAHON.

RAILROAD-CAR COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, D. LYNAHON and C. J.WING, of Bufialo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Car-Coupling; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section ofour improvement. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of one of the bumpers.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

The nature of our invention consists in having the ends of the bumpersof each car enlarged and having in each enlarged end a cross bar towhich a vertical pin is attached. The ends of the cross bars work inslots in the sides of the enlarged parts of the bumpers, and the pinsabove mentioned are encompassed by springs which keep the cross barsdepressed or forced down upon the shackles which have catches orinclined planes at their ends, the catches or inclined planes being backof the cross bars when the bumpers are connected as will be presentlyshown and described.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and constructour invention, we will proceed to describe it.

A, A, Fig. 1, represent the bumpers of two cars, each bumper at itsouter end has an enlargement or a rectangular box B, in the sides ofwhich slots, a, a, are made, one in each side, as shown clearly in Fig.2. In each box B, there is-placed a cross bar C, the ends of which fitor work in the slots a. The front sides of the cross bars are rounded asshown in Fig. l.

D, are vertical pins which pass through the cross bars C, at theircenter, one pin to each cross bar. These pins pass through the upper ortop part of the boxes B, and have spiral springs, 6, around them betweenthe undersides of the top pieces of the boxes and the upper surfaces ofthe cross bars. The lower ends of the pins pass through apertures, c, inthe lower parts of the boxes.

E, represents the shackle which has two inclined planes (Z, d, at eachend. The inclined planes are at suitable distances apart so that theycan pass each side of the pin D,

15,997, dated October 28, 1856.

and the shackle has two holes or rings, 6, 6, formed in it to receivethe pins. The shackle may be formed of a single'piece of metal with theholes, 6, cut through it, or they may be formed of rods with ringsattached to them, as shown in Fig. 2.

Hthin the bumpers A, A, and directly back of the cross bars G, there areattached springs F, F, one at each side. These springs curve inwardtoward each other and their outer ends meet or nearly meet when theshackle is not in the bumpers.

By showing the shackle in one of the bumpers, the inclined planes (Z,(Z, will raise the cross bar C, and the inclined planes will pass behindit the cross bar falling in con sequence of the spring Z), directly backof the inclined planes and holding the shackle in the bumper, the lowerend of the pin D, passing through one of the rings or holes, 6, into thehole, 0, in the lower part of the box B. The springs F, F, keep theshackle in a horizontal position so that the opposite or outward end ofthe shackle may be in a proper position to pass into the bumper of anadjoining car when brought up to it. The device therefore couples itselfand the disconnection is readily effected by drawing upward either ofthe pins and cross bars by hand. I

By the above improvement the cars may be readily connected anddisconnected and without danger, as there is no occasion for a person topass between the cars in order to adjust the pins D.

The device is simple, not liable to get out of repair, and not expensiveto manufacture.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,

The construction of the coupling as herein shown, viz. having the crossbars C, with pins D, attached, and encompassed by springs, b, the barsand springs being placed in the boxes B, as described and the shacklesE, formed wit-h inclined planes, (Z, d, at their ends for the purposeset forth.

D. LYNAHON. CHAS. J. WING.

